Hutzell: Pam Beidle had $400K to fund a political legacy. She’s spreading it around.

All Pam Beidle wanted to do was donate $400,000 to help elect like-minded Democrats.

The retiring state senator created the Anne Arundel Democracy Slate in hopes of tilting the tight June 23 Democratic primary in favor of Allison Pickard’s run for county executive.

Jim Smith did it first.

When the former Baltimore County executive left office in 2010, he pumped $476,380 from his campaign into the Baltimore County Victory Fund.

The fund became so infamous — boosting the careers of two future county executives, a future speaker of the Maryland House and a future disgraced Baltimore mayor — that when its treasurer landed in jail, it hardly seemed a surprise.

State lawmakers adopted new limits on slate donations to prevent a repeat. So, when I wrote about Beidle’s plans to fund a political legacy, phones started ringing at the state Board of Elections offices in Annapolis.

“It’s called the Jim Smith rule,” explained Jared DeMarinis, state elections administrator.

Once Beidle ended her reelection bid in February, she was barred from transferring more than $6,000 a year to the slate — the same limit for most contributions. Beidle asked DeMarinis for clarification on whether closing the account changed that.

It does not.

“As a member of the slate, you can make an unlimited transfer of money to the slate,” DeMarinis said. “To be a member of the slate, you have to be an active candidate.”

So now what? Beidle said Friday she always intended to split the money and has now divided it among candidates and committees.

“I’ve gotta do something with it,” she said when we first talked about the money.

The retired insurance agent from Linthicum had on one of the biggest political funds in this year’s local elections. It could influence races across the ballot if she can spend it, helping all 19 Anne Arundel Democracy Slate candidates.

Beidle’s chief goal, however, was to help Pickard beat James Kitchin, a special assistant to outgoing County Executive Steuart Pittman, and County Councilman Pete Smith.

The senator isn’t alone in leaving office with money in the bank. Her pile is just unusually large.

Former House Speaker Adrienne Jones is retiring, but has $149,000 in her account. State Sen. Bryan Simonaire, an Anne Arundel Republican, is leaving, too. He has about $53,000.

Even Jones’ predecessor, Speaker Mike Busch — who raised millions in his final years — had only $147,903 when he died suddenly in 2019.

He moved it out as fast as it came in, transferring it to the House Democratic Caucus and the Maryland Democratic Party for candidates statewide.

Whatever Beidle does, her political wealth is recent.

Elected to the County Council in 1998 and the state legislature eight years later, she has been a reliable fundraiser. Her 2023 annual report showed $74,448.

In October of that year, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson named her chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. It handles healthcare, transportation, labor and economic regulation. It’s also a cashbox for political contributions.

Her balance swelled to $244,844 the following year — money from lobbying firms, healthcare executives and cannabis business owners.

She surpassed her predecessor as Finance Committee chair, Melony Griffith. By the time Beidle stepped out, contributions over her tenure as chair totaled $743,160.

“You know, being chair of a committee helps,” Beidle said last month. “It really makes a difference.”

She initially planned to run this year, teaming up with the three delegates from her district, Sandy Bartlett, Mark Chang and Mike Rogers. Instead, she decided that time with her husband was more important.

“You know, so much was going on in Finance, the whole redistricting thing,” she said. “Lenny and I have been married 54 years. I’ve spent 28 of it in office.”

In January, the senator transferred $175,000 to set up the slate. She paid bills and donated within the limits to individual candidates.

What’s left was $462,221.

Beidle said Friday she transferred $6,000 to the slate as well as money to individual candidates. Other funds will go to the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee, the local party organization.

All of those moves should appear in her June campaign finance report.

Beidle could transfer it all to the Senate Democratic Caucus or the Maryland Democratic Party. It’s what the outgoing county executive did.

Pittman supports Kitchin, but can only donate $250 to him because he’s using public financing. Instead, he zeroed out his campaign account by transferring $40,697 to the party, which he chairs.

Pittman is supposed to be neutral in primary races, but he’s found ways to support Kitchin.

Beidle could spread her money out among the 19 members of her slate, including Pickard. But at $6,000 max each, that’s only about a quarter of her balance.

The third option is to follow former state Sen. Paul Pinsky’s example.

After taking a job as head of the Maryland Energy Administration in 2023, the Prince George’s County Democrat began winding down his committee.

Over three years, he donated more than $100,000 to scholarship funds at the University of Maryland.

Beidle has eight years to decide how to spend, transfer or donate the money. Whatever she decides, it isn’t the biggest political fortune parked on ice in Maryland.

That belongs to U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr.

Elected Baltimore County executive in 2018, he ran for Congress in 2024. Under the law, he can’t use funds raised for a state campaign in a federal race.

Today, Olszewski has $1.7 million cooling in his state campaign finance account.

That makes him a potential contender in the 2030 governor’s race, when Gov. Wes Moore’s likely second term ends.

“Congressman Olszewski remains focused on representing Maryland’s 2nd District and fighting back against the Trump administration’s assault on democracy,” wrote Jaime Lennon, his spokeswoman, in an email.

“We’ll be sure to keep you posted.”

The money, just like Beidle’s, gives him options.

This column was updated Friday after Beidle said what she was doing with the money.